04/24/2003 - Updated 09:32 AM ET Ranks of armed pilots to swell WASHINGTON (AP) =97 Hundreds more commercial airline pilots will be trained= =20 to carry guns in the cockpit by Sept. 30 as the federal government=20 committed $8 million to train them, the Transportation Security=20 Administration said Thursday. The first 44 pilots allowed to carry guns=20 were sworn in as federal flight deck officers on Saturday after a week of=20 classes, drills and testing at a federal law enforcement facility in=20 Glynco, Ga. "We see this as a positive step for hardening the target and=20 preventing a repeat occurrence of the 9/11 tragedy," said Capt. Steve=20 Luckey, a retired pilot who chairs the Air Line Pilots Association's=20 national security committee. The first class of pilots was nominated by=20 their unions and selected by the TSA. Future trainees will apply online,=20 said Robert Johnson, spokesman for the Transportation Security=20 Administration, which runs the training. Lawmakers last year overrode the Bush administration's objections to=20 allowing pilots to carry weapons on the flight deck because of fears it=20 would be dangerous and distracting. The airlines also opposed weapons on=20 the flight deck for the same reasons. Pilots were concerned the Bush administration would try to limit the=20 program because of its earlier objections. Last week in Georgia they said=20 they were happy with the initial training, which will be modified as the=20 TSA learns more about what works and what doesn't. "We're very pleased with= =20 what's going on down here," Luckey said last week. The next class is=20 scheduled for midsummer, though the TSA doesn't know yet how large it will= =20 be. According to one estimate, about a third of the 100,000 pilots in the=20 United States will volunteer to carry guns and complete the training in the= =20 next five years. Some pilots are likely to be trained at a federal law=20 enforcement training center in Artesia, N.M., as well as the facility in=20 Georgia. Training a single pilot costs $6,200, but there are likely to be=20 new expenses for equipment and training aids, said Johnson. The course=20 itself is unlikely to change much, he said. The agency determined that it=20 could spend $8 million on the program between now and Sept. 30 after=20 analyzing the budget approved by Congress in January, Johnson said. TSA=20 asked for $25 million to train pilots next year. Airlines learned on Sunday if any of their pilots were sworn in to carry=20 weapons. The pilots trained on their own time, and didn't have to tell=20 their employer because failing could have adversely affected their jobs.=20 Four pilots didn't complete the course for undisclosed reasons. Pilots=20 could fail to graduate from the course for reasons such as an inability to= =20 finish the rigorous training or failing psychological tests that indicate=20 whether he or she would be able to kill another person. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.pscutt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************